Portable strip dispenser



June 15, 1965 H. A. HoLzwoRTH ETAL 3,189,219

PORTABLE STRIP DISPENSER Filed July lO, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEY June 15, 1965 H. A. HoLzwoRTH ETAL. 3,189,219

PORTABLE STRIP DISPENSER Filed July 1o, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 T1 ail. 25

ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,189,219 PRTABLE STRIP DSPENSER Henry A. Holzwarth, Bayside, John I). Warts, Freeport, and Peter Sehladermundt, Bronxviile, NX., assignors to Johnson 1 Johnson, a corporation of N ew Jersey Filed July 10, 1963Ser. No. 293,970 2 Ciaims. (Cl. 221-131) The present invention relates to dispensers for strips of uniform length such as adhesive bandages sold as BAND- AID adhesive bandages by Johnson & Johnson of New Brunswick, New Jersey.

It is a principal object of this invention to provide a portable dispenser for strips of this type from which the strips may be dispensed easily, `one at a time, in any position of the dispenser.

Another object is to provide such a dispenser wherein the strips may be easily loaded in a stack by the consumer and positioned for dispensing in a fool-proof manner.

A further object of the invention is to provide a dispenser of this type which may be loaded with strips of different widths and is adapted for selective dispensing of a strip of the desired width.

Other and further advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and claims taken together with the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a dispenser according to a preferred embodiment of this invention, showing the dispenser held in one hand and a strip being removed therefrom with the other hand;

FIG. 2 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation taken along the line 2 2 of FIG. 1 showing the dispenser of FIG. l empty, and in closed and partially open positions;

FIG. 3 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation taken along the line 3 3 of FIG. 1 showing the dispenser loaded with a stack of strips;

FIG. 4 is an end elevational view of the dispenser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view in perspective of the dispenser of the preceding figures in a fully open position and with one of its chambers loaded with a stack of strips;

FIG. 6 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 2; i

FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of the dispenser of the preceding iigures;

FIG. 8 is a view in perspective of` a wall bracket and plate for the dispenser of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation showing the dispenser of FIG. 7 secured to the wall bracket and plate of FIG. 8 when the bracket is held on the wall by an adhesive layer applied to the back side of the plate;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 9 but showing the wal-l bracket held in place on the wall by screws extending through holes provided for this purpose adjacent the top and bottom edges of the plate.

Referring to FIGS. 1-7 of the drawings, there is shown a dispenser according to this invention which comprises a base and a cover 16 hinged about an axis 17 located adjacent the rear bottom corner of the dispenser for pivotal movement with respect to one another for opening and closing the dispenser. The base comprises a front wall 18, a bottom wall 19 and a pair of bottom side walls 21; and the cover comprises a rear wall 22, a top wall 23, a pair of top side walls 24, and a divider 24a depending from the top wall 23 between the side walls 24. Opposed pins 25 ext-end outwardly from the side walls of the cover 16 adjacent the rear bottom corner of the dispenser and a corresponding pair of holes 26 are provided in the side walls of the base 15 on the axis of the dispenser for receiving the pins and thereby pivotally` mounting the cover ICC on the base. Preferably the base 15 and the cover 16 are formed of a rigid yet resilient material such as polystyrene and the bottom side walls of the base may be ilexed outwardly to allow the pins 25 to fit into the holes 26 to snap the cover in position on the base.

The base 15 and the cover 16, when the dispenser is close-d, deiine between them a large chamber 27 and a small chamber 23 for receiving stacks of bandage strips 29 of uniform length. The large chamber 27 is for wide strips and the small chamber 28 is adapted to receive and dispense narrower strips. The front wall 1% on the base of the dispenser presents an inclined shelf portion 31 at its upper end and the front wall below said inclined shelf portion 31 also is inclined upwardly and outwardly` toward said shelf. However, whereas the lower portion of the front wall 13 clearly is inclined at an angle of less than 45 to the vertical, the shelf 31 is disposed at a much greater angle to the vertical tending to approach at the top edge of the front wall. The top of the front wall of the dispenser is curved in cross-section as shown most clearly in FIGS. 2 and 3 so that the change in inclination from that of the lower portion of the front wall 18 to that of the shelf 31 is reasonably gradual. The rear wall 22 of the cover presents an inclined cam portion 32 in the form of the front edge of a short wall 3d parallel to the top side walls 24 of the dispenser, and the cam portion 32 generally follows the contour of the front wall 18 of the dispenser. The top 35 of the cam 32 is inclined at the greater angle to the vertical than the lower portion thereof to correspond with the greater inclination of the shelf 31 presented at the top of the front wall of the dispenser. The shape of the inclined cam portion 32 presented by the rear wall is such that the longitudinal distance between the said cam and the inclined shelf 31 on the front wall in planes parallel to the top wall 23 of the dispenser is substantially equal to the length of the strips to be dispensed. Thus, each of the chambers 27 and 28 is defined lengthwise by the bottom wall 19 of the dispenser, the front wall 18 including the shelf 31, the top wall 23 of the dispenser and the inclined cam 32 at the rear of the dispenser; and widthwise by the divider 24a, on one side, and the corresponding top and bottom side walls 24 and 21 of the dispenser, on the other side.

A longitudinal leaf spring 36 of a suitable material such as spring steel is positioned in e-ach of the chambers. Each spring is mounted with its lower end secured lto the bottom Wall 19 of the dispenser adjacent the dispenser axis 17 and with its top end 36a free. Since the springs 3,6 are identical, the structure and operation thereof will be described hereinafter, for convenience, with respect to one spring only. The bottom of the spring 36 is bent at an angle to the operating portion thereof to provide a flat holding section 36 which is inserted between top and bottom holding bars 38 and 3-9, respectively, molded in the bottom wall 19 of the dispenser. The holding section 37 of the spring is threaded under a to-p holding bar 3S, over a bottom holding bar 39, under a top hold-ing bar 38, and then over the adjacent portion of the bottom wall 19. A small protuberyance 41 may be formed in the holding section 37 of the spring to prevent it from being removed from the holding bars once it has been threaded into position between them. As shown mrost clearly in FIG. 5, the spring 36 has a normal position extending upwardly beyond the closed position of the` top wall 23 of the cover. In this position, the spring is substantially vertical. However, the spring 36 is adapted to be ilexed longitudinally downwardly toward the front of the dispenser by pressure yapplied adjacent its top end 3era The spring is inclined slightly at its top end to present a surface for pressing upwardly against the underside of a stack of strips 29 ansa-,aio

3 when the dispenser is closed, as shown most clearly in FIGS. 2 and 3.

'In the fully opened position of the dispenser, i.e., when the cover is pivoted away from the base as far as it will go, as shown in FIG. 5, the top Wall 23 of the dispenser is spaced substantially from the springs 36 which now Iare in their normal substantially vertical position. In fact, the springs 36 an-d the top wall 23 extend almost in the same direction or substantially parallel to one another. This is one of the normal loading positions of the dispenser. It will be seen that the dispenser may be opened in this fashion .and a stack of strips 29 may be inserted easily into the top half of one of the chamibers where it will be held in position by the top of the chamber structure and the spring 36 corresponding thereto. Another way of loading the dispenser quickly, particularly if only a few strips 29 are to be inserted is to position it so that the top wall 23 of the dispenser is substantially horizontal prior to insertion of the strips and then place the strips in position with one end in contact with the inclined cam 32 on the rear wall and pivot the base 15 of the dispenser toward the cover 16 t-o bring one of the springs 36 into contact with the strips 29 `and hold them in position as the dispenser is closed. Thus, it will be seen that a stack of strips 29 may be loaded easily in one of the chambers 27 or 28 of the dispenser by the consumer. The loading is accomplished in a fool-proof manner since it is only necessary to place `the stack `in contact with the cam portion 32 .at the rear of the dispenser and then close the dispenser to bring one of the springs 36 into contact with |the bottom of the stack to make the dispenser operable in the manner described more fully hereinafter,

When .a stack of strips 29 is positioned in the top half of `one of the chambers as shown in PEG. 5 with ione end of the stack resting against the inclined cam 32 presented by the back wall and the dispenser then is closed, the stack will cause the spring 36 in that chamber to flex downwardly while pressing upwardly against the bottom of the stack as shown in FIG. 3. This spring 36 urges the stack into contact with the top wall 23 in such a way that the strips 219 remain in substantially parallel relation with the top wall with their front and rear edges in contact respectively with the shelf 3i and inclined front wall 18 and the inclined cam portion 32 presented by ysaid back wall. A large dispensing opening 42 and a small dispensing opening tf1-3 are presented in the top wall 23 at the front edge thereof. The large dispensing opening 42 is positioned over the shelf portion 31 -of the front wall at the front end of the large chamber 27 and the small dispensing opening 43 is positioned over the shelf 3:1 .at the front end of the small chamber 2S. Those portions d4 of the top wall 23 immediately to the rear of the large and small dispensing openings 42 and 43 slope upwardly so that a thin edge i5 is presented at the rear of each opening.

Each of the leaf springs 36 tends to return to its normal upright position so that the top end 36a of the spring tends to follow an arcuate path upwardly and rearwardly toward the rear of the top wall 23 of the dispenser when the dispenser is closed. Thus, the spring 36 is adapted to urge the rear end of a stack of strips 29 in its chamber upwardly and toward the rear wall 22 and the inclined cam portion 32 presented by the rear wall. The inclination of the cam 32 causes the leading edge of the top strip d6 in the stack to overlap the leading edge of the next strip in the stack so that the top strip extends over the shelf 31 beyond any of the other strips. When it is desired to dispense one of the strips 29, one linger is either positioned directly on the top of the front end 7 of the top strip 4.6 in the stack or slid downwardly along ing it roughly as shown in FIG. 1. The strips 29 may be dispensed easily one at a time in this manner, selectively from Aone chamber or the other through and including the last strip in the stack. Furthermore, the iirst strip in the original stack and the last strip may be dispensed with equal facility.

While it is important that the dispenser of this invention is portable and may be operated while held in one hand as shown in FIG. l, it may be desirable to mount the dispenser on a wall or some other surface where it is readily accessible. For this purpose, a keyed slot 47 is provided in the bottom wall 19 of the dispenser for mounting the dispenser on a nail or screw, not shown, extending slightly from a wall, or the like. The head of the nail is inserted through the wide portion 48 of the slot in a conventional manner and the narrow portion thereof is then slid past the head.

For mounting the dispenser on a wall in a more secure manner, a mounting fixture 49 comprising a bracket 51 and base plate 52 is provided. As shown most clearly in FIGS. 8-l0, the base plate 52 may be secured to a wall 53 in one of two ways. It may be screwed to the wall, as shown in FIG. 10, by inserting mounting screws 54 through a pair of holes 55 adjacent the top and bottom edges of the plate, respectively, `or it may be adhered to the wall by an adhesive layer 56 applied to the backside of the plate 52. A facing sheet 57 also is provided for covering the adhesive layer 56 before the xture is used. This facing sheet 57 is removed just prior to adhering the base plate S2 to the wall as shown in FIG. 9. The mounting bracket 51 is in the form of a hook which tits into the bayonet slot d'7 in the bottom wall 19 of the dispenser. The wall 19 is then slid into the space between the bracket 51 and the base plate 52, as shown in FIGS. 9

" and 10, to secure the dispenser in position.

T he dispenser is held closed by a detent 61 at the front end of the divider 24a depending from the top wall of the dispenser. As the cover 16 of the dispenser is pivoted toward the base 15 during closing of the dispenser, the tapered front end of the detent 61 strikes one edge of a slot 62 located in the front wall 18 for receiving the detent. The detent 61 presents a ridge 63 which normally extends transversely beyond this edge of the slot 62 in the normal position of the divider 24a. As the detent 61 r is pressed into the slot 62 the divider 24a is ilexed slightly toward one side of the dispenser so that the ridge 63 passes through the slot and allows the divider to snap back to its normal position with the ridge 63 overlapping one edge of the slot. Thus, the cover 16 and base 15 are latched together. When it is desired to open the dispenser, it is only necessary to push the detent 61 to one side so that the ridge 63 no longer overlaps one edge of the slot 62 and then press the detent through the slot. A vertical wall section 64 is provided on the underside of the front wall adjacent the slot 62 to facilitate operation of the detent 61 and reinforce the front wall at the slot. The vertical wall section 64!- facilitates opening the dispenser since the detent 61 may be aligned with the slot 62 for passage therethrough merely by squeezing the detent toward the wall section.

Having now described the invention in specific detail and exemplified the manner in which it may be carried into practice, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that innumerable variations, applications, modifig cations, and extensions of the basic principles involved may be made without departing from its spirit or scope.

The invention claimed is:

1. A dispenser for strips of uniform length which comprises a base member having front and bottom walls and a cover member having rear and top walls, said base and cover being hinged together about an axis disposed adjacent the lower edge of said rear wall to facilitate opening and closing said dispenser, said bottom wall and said top wall being substantially parallel when the dispenser is closed and defining between them a chamber for receivaladino ing an appropriate stack of strips of uniform length, said front wall having a shelf portion inclined outwardly near the top edge thereof and said Vrear wall presenting a portion inclined inwardly and generally following the contour of the front inclined shelf portion, and a leaf spring anchored at one end to the dispenser hase adjacent said axis and having its other end free, said leaf spring when the dispenser is fully opened being in a relaxed condition spaced sufficiently from the dispenser top Wall to accommodate said appropriate stack of strips, and said spring when the dispenser is fully closed being under stress and bearing against the stack at the bottom thereof to urge the stack at the top thereof into contact with said top wall and the strips in the stack at one end thereof into contact with said inwardly inclined portion presented by 1f' its front edge overlying the shelf portion and the top strip 20 of the stack near the frontend thereof, whereby the strips may be dispensed one at a time by pressing the top strip downwardly and forwardly to facilitate its grasping and removal from the dispenser.

2. A dispenser according to claim 1 wherein a partition compartmentalizes said chamber to accommodate a plurality of said stacks of strips and wherein said parti* tion is equipped with means cooperating with the front wall of the dispenser to hold said base and4 cover against inadvertent opening.

References Cited hy the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 340,355 4/86 Ramser 221-280 X 435,352 8/90 Bromberg 221-280 X 705,578 7/02 Frederick 221--279 1,049,511 1/13 Mulgrew 221-280 X 1,251,191 12/ 17 Dorneniconi 221-280 X 1,306,795 6/19 Arntzen 221-303 X LOUIS I. DEMBO, Primary Examiner.

HADD S. LANE, Examiner. 

1. A DISPENSER FOR STRIPS OF UNIFORM LENGTH WHICH COMPRISES A BASE MEMBER HAVING FRONT AND BOTTOM WALLS AND A COVER MEMBER HAVING REAR AND TOP WALLS, SAID BASE AND COVER BEING HINGED TOGETHER ABOUT AN AXIS DISPOSED ADJACENT THE LOWER EDGE OF SAID REAR WALL TO FACILITATE OPENING AND CLOSING SAID DISPENSER, SAID BOTTOM WALL AND SAID TOP WALL BEING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL WHEN THE DISPENSER IS CLOSED AND DEFINING BETWEEN THEM A CHAMBER FOR RECEIVING AN APPROPRIATE STACK OF STRIPS OF UNIFORM LENGTH, SAID FRONT WALL HAVING A SHELF PORTION INCLINED OUTWARDLY NEAR THE TOP EDGE THEREOF AND SAID REAR WALL PRESENTING A PORTION INCLINED INWARDLY AND GENERALLY FOLLOWING THE CONTOUR OF THE FRONT INCLINED SHELF PORTION, AND A LEAF SPRING ANCHORED AT ONE END TO THE DISPENSER BASE ADJACENT SAID AXIS AND HAVING ITS OTHER END FREE, SAID LEAF SPRING WHEN THE DISPENSER IS FULLY OPENED BEING IN A RELAXED CONDITION SPACED SUFFICIENTLY FROM THE DISPENSER TOP WALL TO ACCOMMODATE SAID APPROPRIATE STACK OF STRIPS, AND SAID SPRING WHEN THE DISPENSER IS FULLY CLOSED BEING UNDER STRESS AND BEARING AGAINST THE STACK AT THE BOTTOM THEREOF TO URGE THE STACK AT THE TOP THEREOF INTO CONTACT WITH SAID 